A Lady's Veil
by klaroline-heaven
Summary: A female gladiator named Caroline has not had the easiest life, but one day her life takes a turn that she never expected. Her ability on the field has caught the prince's attention and without knowing what he is getting himself into, he takes her away only to learn that she is a woman. Suffice it to say, a love story of the century begins.
1. Chapter 1

Hey y'all! So, no this is not a new fanfiction unless the feedback turns out to be good... I hope you guys like this one! Also, this first chapter is for Mafalda because a couple of months ago, she told me she wanted to read something that had to do with gladiators (or at least I think so)

Her Façade

A female gladiator named Caroline has not had the easiest life, but one day her life takes a turn that she never expected. Her ability on the field has caught the prince's attention and without knowing what he is getting himself into, he takes her away only to learn that she is a woman. Suffice to say, a love story of the century begins.

Enjoy!

* * *

The sound of the horses hooves against the wet pavement brought the little girl out of her slumber and as she slowly opened her eyes, she looked around the tent. She realized that her parents weren't there and as she was standing up, she heard the screams coming from outside.

Her bright blue eyes widened in confusion and even though she knew that it would be best if she hid, she didn't. Both of her parents were warriors and she intended to follow in their footsteps because she believed that what they did for the village was far more important than anything else.

As the little girl made her way outside, she stopped in her tracks when she spotted her father fighting the men with his favorite sword.

She was mesmerized at the sight and though she saw the people that she knew dead on the wet ground, she couldn't get herself to move her feet.

Caroline cried out when she saw a sword plunge through her father's back, but he continued to fight until his last breath. As her father died, she shook her head frantically because the life she knew would now change forever.

Caroline's mother spotted her daughter and she quickly ran over to her. As soon as she reached her, she shielded her from the soldiers.

"Mama?" Caroline said, hoping that she would hear her.

Before her mother could respond, a soldier pushed her to the ground and she held onto her daughter tightly.

"Mama?" Caroline whispered.

"Shut your eyes, sweetheart. Stay still and shut your eyes. Pretend that you are-"

"Okay," Caroline responded as her mother moved away from her. The blonde lay on the floor without so much as a movement and her eyes were closed. She couldn't see what was going on, but she could hear the soldiers ordering the rest to sit in a single file line.

She heard them getting into the single file line and she listened intently. She heard the sound of a horse's hooves stopping beside her and she slowly opened her eyes. The man on the horse looked down at her mother and she looked up at him. Caroline could see the movement from the corner of her eye and before she knew what was going on, the man slit her mother's throat.

Liz fell to the floor in a heap and before she took her last breath, her eyes met her daughters.

"I love you." Liz mouthed weakly. "Get back at them." She added before she took her last breath.

Caroline wanted to cry for her parents lives, but she knew that she couldn't disappoint her mother and so she shut her eyes as soon as she got a good look at the man that slit her mother's throat.

"Kill them all." The same man ordered and Caroline squeezed her eyes shut because she couldn't bare to see the people that she knew get slaughtered by those savages.

As soon as the other villagers were all dead, the soldiers began piling them up and Caroline felt one of them grabbing her by her nightgown. The blonde made sure to stay quiet as he walked over to the pile of corpses and threw her on them.

The next morning, Caroline's eyes shot open and she sat up on the corpses. As she climbed down from them, she spotted her mother and father laying a short distance away from one another. She walked over to her father first and she pressed her lips to his forehead before she made her way to her mother, kissing her on the cheeks.

After that, she felt the moisture building up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She then inhaled a deep breath and she walked over to her father's sword. She picked it up and took a handful of her golden curls in her hand. If she wanted to survive, she had to make sure to look like a boy. If anybody would find her, they would surely kill her or send her to a brothel, but perhaps if she looked the part of a boy, she would be sent some place else and have the chance to avenge her parents and neighbors. Caroline walked over to the still-burning fire and she chopped her hair off and watched it get engulfed with flames.

As soon as that was done, she made her way into David's tent and grabbed a tunic that was around her size as well as trousers. David was one of the boys in her village and he seemed to be the only one that she ever got along with. If such a thing wouldn't have happened in her village, they would surely marry.

The blonde shook her head before she removed her nightgown and pulled on the trousers followed by the tunic. Once she was dressed, she made her way out of the tent with her father's sword in hand.

The next two days passed by slowly and she had a lot of time to think to herself and she knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to kill her mother's killer by etching his face in her head.

Soon after, she was awoken by the sound of footsteps and before she could make a run a for it, an ugly man grabbed her.

"Look at what we have here, gentlemen… A boy that can't be more than of seven years." He said.

"What do you suggest we do?" One of them questioned.

"What we always do! We take him as a slave."

"Sounds good." He smirked.

The ugly man nodded before he looked down at Caroline. He grabbed her father's sword and she lunged at him, but before she could do anything, the sword met her cheek and the man slid it down, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

"I am in charge around here, little boy." He spat.

Caroline put her hand to her cheek and she felt the wetness there and suddenly she realized, that the life that she always wanted was not going to occur. She always dreamt of finding a dashing man, but now she doubted she'd ever be looked at because of the scar that would surely stay on her cheek.

Shaking her head, she felt the shackles on her hands and before she could protest, she was being pulled away and the last image that she got of her village were of the corpses and the home that she no longer recognized.

* * *

_Eleven Years Later:_

She sat on the chair and her blonde curls cascaded down her back. She impatiently tapped her feet on the floor as she waited for Alaric to arrive.

As soon as she heard the door knob turn, she jumped up. Alaric came into the room and he set his things down on the desk before he sat down on one of the chair with his lips in a thin line.

"You wanted to see me?" She questioned.

"I did want to see you, Caroline." He nodded. "Take a seat." He added, motioning to the chair across from him.

The blonde did as she was told and looked over at him with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Caroline…" Alaric started. "I am setting you free, so I need you to get up right now and follow me out of the door. You are free and so I want you to go."

"I have a competition, Alaric- a competition that I have to win."

"Darling please…" He sighed heavily. "You do not seem to understand that I am giving you a chance to live a normal life. One where you do not have to wear a helmet just because you want to hide your feminine features."

"You know that that is not the only reason why I wear a helmet. You know what your men did to me when I was still a child."

"Yes, I know…" He said. "I know that you have a scar on your cheek, but it is barely visible anymore."

"Alaric, I cannot leave now. I cannot just become somebody that I am not. I do not even know how to act like a lady because for most of my life, I have been with you and the others. I cannot just get up and leave. Where do you expect me to find shelter?"

"I will help you with everything. I will find you a flat in town and I will get you a job someplace. I will also help you with money and I do not care how long it takes- all I want is for you to live the life that you always deserved."

"No," she shook her head.

"Caroline, do not force me to take you to some flat and lock you in there. You are like a daughter to me and I love you with all my heart which is why I kept up your charade. Do you really want our relationship to become strained because you are too stubborn for your own good?"

"Alaric, you are like my father and I know that I do not act like I am thankful to you for everything that you have for me, but I am."

"I know," he sighed heavily. "At least promise me that you will think about it. That is the least you can do for me."

"Okay," she told him immediately because even though she loved being a gladiator, she always did crave for the life that she could have had if her parents were still alive. Hell, Alaric was nice enough to buy her a couple of romance novels just to show her how it could have been, but if she was being honest to herself, she knew nothing of being a lady even though and could not picture herself as one.

"Promise me that you will think about it well, Caroline."

"I promise, Alaric. I do not know whether I am ready or will ever be ready to become a lady, but I will think about it."

"Good," he sighed in relief and the tension in his shoulders seemed to disappear.

"Now I have a match to attend, so if you will excuse me, I must warm up."

"Darling, you do not have to fight in this one. Take time to think and relax a little. Surely, your muscles are sore after having back to back matches these past five days."

"I am fine, Alaric. My anatomy is not like yours and I have competed during my monthly flow before which was never a problem."

"I have a hard time believing that."

"Well you do not have, too. Also, read assured that my monthly flow is not taking place at the moment, so I am perfectly fine."

Alaric shivered as she spoke easily of her condition that occurred monthly because he believed it to be too much information.

Caroline shook her head before she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

With a sigh, Alaric wrapped his arms around her because he was worried.

"Be careful, my dear."

"Always," she reassured him with one of her signature smiles.

* * *

As the people in the crowd were taking their seats,Niklaus Mikaelson sat down beside his brothers and they enjoyed some grapes while they waited for the match to begin.

"Why are we here again?" Henrik questioned as he looked over at his brothers with curiosity in his brown eyes.

"We need some men that are capable of protecting our family which is why we are here." Klaus told him and Kol and Elijah nodded in agreement.

"Oh," he said.

The brothers smiled at one another and a couple of minutes later, the competitors entered the arena through different entrances.

"I bet the bigger one is going to win." Kol told them as they all looked at the beast of a man that was making his way towards the center. He wore armor in the shape of a vest on his upper body and a steel knee braces.

Their eyes then wandered to the smaller form of the man that was coming towards the center and Klaus put his finger under his chin in thought.

"The smaller man is going to win." He told them and they looked over at him with curiosity in their equally dark eyes that didn't mirror his at all. While all of his brothers had dark eyes, he had blue-gray eyes which he took after his grandfather- the patriarch of the Mikaelson family.

"What makes you think that he will win? He has so much armor on himself that it will most likely be difficult to move around.

"He is wearing armor from head to toe, but from the looks of it, it seems like it is a thinner fabric. Perhaps, this gladiator does not like his body to be exposed to his opponent."

"Or perhaps, the skinny gladiator is suicidal which is why he is standing before such a large opponent." Kol told them.

"Let us watch the match then." Elijah offered as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his seat.

The match began shortly after and the larger gladiator was able to put the smaller gladiator down with a couple of punches to the face and a kick in the ribs before he gave a final kick to the gladiator's shin.

The gasps around the colosseum were heard and the Royal Family looked at one another before a smirk appeared on Kol's lips.

"I would hate to tell you I told you so, but I did." He shrugged as he smirked at his older brother.

"Just wait," Klaus told him before he turned his attention back to the gladiator that still lay on the floor.

* * *

Caroline saw stars in her vision as she fell to the ground and she slowly drifted into oblivion because she just wanted to sleep. The blonde was exhausted after all of the matches that she was apart of, but she wasn't going to let the bully who was her opponent win because he didn't deserve it. Even though the two came from the same group of gladiators, Atticus Leison would always pick on her because she was always smaller than the rest of them. Thankfully, nobody knew that she was a woman because of the helmet that she wore at all times. Of course, there were times when the others tried to remove her helmet, but they never succeeded because of Caroline's agility.

She didn't move for a couple of minutes, but as soon as she was okay, she stood up and glared at her opponent. The only thing that the others knew about her was the color of her eyes- a cerulean blue that matched the sky on a sunny and clear day.

With speed that only she could master, she charged towards Atticus and before he could react, she punched him in the face before she yielded her sword. When she had her sword at the ready, she slashed the skin of his stomach and Atticus began to bleed.

Soon after, Atticus Leison fell to the ground in a heap and forfeited because he needed immediate attention. After all, he was losing blood quickly.

Caroline turned her attention to the crowd and her eyes roamed over the people that sat on the right side of the stadium.

Applause erupted and the blonde smiled to herself before her eyes locked with a man that looked rather familiar. She felt the fluttering in her stomach and quickly looked away because what she felt was something that she never felt before.

* * *

"He won," Kol said before he crossed his arms over his broad chest and looked over at his older brother.

"I told you he would, didn't I?" He questioned.

"Do not gloat, little brother." Elijah warned and Klaus smirked before he focused his attention on the winner of the match.

His smirk fell when his eyes locked with those of the gladiator. He could not make out the color of the man's eyes, but he knew for certain that he wanted the man to come back to the castle with him and his brothers in tow.

After all, the gladiator had the prowess necessary to lead a successful army.

"I want him to come back with us." Klaus told his brothers.

"I beg your pardon?" Elijah questioned.

"We need a man with this gladiator's ability. Surely, you all agree with me?"

"The man is too skinny, brother… We need somebody who can make our enemies fearful, not some skinny man."

"I will speak to him at one and that is final." Klaus told them before he reached for a grape.

* * *

There you have it! So, shall I continue it or not? Be honest :)

Please Leave Feedback!

~Hana :p


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, I am finally back with an update after I don't even know how long. I would like to apologize for not updating this fanfic for so long. To be honest, the former title of Her Facade just wasn't interesting enough for me. That is why I changed the title to A Lady's Veil. Also, I would like to thank Jo for the fantastic, gorgeous, stunning fanfic cover that she made for me. Please enjoy, loves!

* * *

At the end of the match, Caroline followed Alaric to a small private room and went behind the screen.

Changing out of her heavy armor, she exhaled a sigh of relief. As soon as she returned home, she would take a bath and that would be the end of it.

Of course, not many people were able to take a bath everyday, but living in Alaric's home had its perks.

"I cannot wait to return home." She sighed, coming out from behind the screen wearing a simple blue dress.

"As sweaty as you are, you still look beautiful, darling." Alaric told her as he made his way over to her and gave her a fatherly hug. "Now, let us go home and I'll make sure that Jenna makes us some hearty dinner."

"Sounds good," the blonde said as she took the glass that he offered and drank greedily.

"The royals watched your fight, Caroline." Alaric notified her and as they were making their way out of the room, a well-dressed man approached them with a smile on his lips.

"Hello," he said, his husky and accented voice making Caroline shiver with something that was foreign to her.

"Hello," Caroline said, giving him a slight curtsy.

"I was told that the gladiator who won the last match could be located in the room you two just vacated." He told them as he looked into the empty room.

"I am sorry to say, but he left a couple of minutes ago. My son doesn't fancy staying too long after a match, after all."

"Your son?" The gent asked. "Am I to assume that this lady is your daughter, then?"

"Why of course," Alaric responded, beaming down at Caroline with a genuine smile.

"Papa, we must go. Mama is waiting for us." Caroline said, playing along with Alaric's little plot.

"I am sorry to keep you waiting, but I came here because I am interested in hiring your son."

"Hiring my son? I do not think that my son will be interested."

"He will. After all I am one of the Prince's and my father is the king."

"Oh my," Caroline said as her bright blue eyes widened and she stared at the handsome prince who had dirty blonde curls and stormy blue-gray eyes.

"It seems I have surprised you, my lady." The prince announced as his gaze moved down her figure. "And it seems you were very nervous for your brother's match indeed." He stated as he took on her sweaty appearance.

"Of course," she responded, looking away from him.

"May I ask your name, love?"

"Um…" Caroline said as she looked over at Alaric, wondering what it is she should do.

"My daughter's name is Caroline, your majesty. However, we must get going. My wife expects us for dinner after all."

"May I call upon you then? I would still like to talk my proposition over with your son and would enjoy getting to know your beautiful daughter."

"I am afraid that isn't possible, your majesty. Good day and if you wish to see my son then perhaps you'll come for his next appearance… It is a sennight away and will be here, of course."

"A sennight? Surely you understand that I wouldn't have approached now if I wasn't looking to immediately recruit your son. The royal family needs a man like him because with him there, nobody would dare speak against us."

"My son isn't the man for this sort of employment, your majesty. Please understand and allow my daughter and I to pass you by."

"If it's being separated from him you're afraid of, then we will work something out. The palace is a big place after all."

"As I tried to say before- we are not interested." Alaric announced and Caroline silently clapped him on the back, but wondered why he was so against her- 'her brother' taking a job with the royal family…

With a nod, the prince looked from the older man and then to Caroline.

"Perhaps, you will change your mind as the sennight passes us by. I'll be here then and will try and have a private conversation with your son. Good day." Klaus stated before he took their leave.

Once Alaric and Caroline were alone, the blonde gave him a curious look.

"Why in the world would you say no to his majesty? I wouldn't mind protecting the royal family."

"Caroline, if you were really a man I wouldn't have thought twice about it. However, I see you as my little girl- my daughter. I won't have you going into a palace surrounded by nosy people. I don't want you to be in danger. Think of what will happen when you're bunk mates find out of your sex. They'll use you, sweetheart. Young men are a rowdy bunch, after all. Not to mention those that are older."

"Ric, as you know I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself. I want to do this." Caroline announced, refusing to back down.

"Caro…" Alaric started, but she interrupted him.

"I've made my decision. Next time I see his majesty, I'll be in my gladiator's uniform. He will not find out that I am a lady, I can assure you."

"You won't be changing your mind, huh? After all, you've always been a stubborn one."

"It's my specialty," she smiled innocently before she wiggled her arm into the empty space between his side and arm.

With a shake of his head, Alaric simply nodded and she smiled brightly up at him. Then, the two walked out of the colosseum and made their way home.

* * *

When Klaus was back at the palace, he made his way into the sitting room he shared with his brothers. Just as she entered, he heard his brothers speaking of the match that they have all just witnessed.

Kol was the first to spot Klaus and as he looked over at him, a wide smile appeared on his lips.

"So, did the gladiator say yes to our proposition? Because we really do need somebody with that amount of skill protecting us from those that mean us ill." Kol announced matter-of-factly.

"Actually, I wasn't able to catch the boy, but I did run into his father and sister."

"How did you miss him, but not his family?" Kol wondered out loud, the confusion evident in his voice.

"Actually, I do not know. But that isn't important… What's important is that his father refused my offer, but did notify me of a match the gladiator would be apart of in a sennight."

"We'll not be able to attend, little brother." Elijah announced. "I'm getting married that day and I expect you to be by my side with the rest of our siblings."

"'Lijah, I'll stay for the ceremony, but not for the day's festivities. I have to recruit this boy because he can train our guards. You know what has been going on… Father has been getting threatening letters and though we have a large group of men working for us, we need somebody that can teach them how to fight."

"You'll stay for the ceremony and the day's festivities, Niklaus." Elijah commanded. "I am the heir to the throne and though I do not wish to use my position, I shall. You will attend my wedding or else there will be problems."

With a roll of his stormy blue-gray eyes, Klaus shrugged and took a seat on one of the wing chairs.

"Are we understood?" Elijah questioned a few seconds later.

"We're understood, your majesty. Nevertheless, you may be the heir, but are not yet the king. I'll see what father has to say about the situation." He announced.

Elijah watched him through hooded eyes, but nodded at the end. Though the brothers loved one another, there were times when they simply did not get along.

Later that day, Klaus knocked on throne room and when he was given entry, he walked over to his father.

"Hello, your majesty." Klaus said as he bowed at the waist.

"Niklaus, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Emperor Mikael of Rome questioned as he folded his hands together in his lap.

"Your majesty, today I witnessed a fine match between two gladiators."

"Nik, it's just the two of us here. You can call me papa." Mikael reminded as a smile appeared on his lips.

Laughing, Klaus nodded in agreement and moved to the other throne that belonged to his mother. As he sat down, he remembered all those times when he was younger…

"_Papa!" A five year old Klaus Mikaelson cried out as he ran into the throne room that was filled with people._

_Stopping in his tracks, he looked around and bit down on his bottom lip nervously. After all, all the men excluding his father were looking at him at though he had two heads and four arms._

"_Niklaus, come forward." Mikael commanded and the little boy did as he was told. _

_As he stepped towards the throne his father currently occupied, he looked down at the floor. After all, a king's son had to gift his father with obedience and ought to have been disciplined no matter how young he was…_

_Before the emperor said anything else to his son, he ordered for the men to leave him for a couple of minutes. He turned them into the direction of the different card rooms that were set up as well as the different lounge areas where the men could drink some alcohol and smoke cheroots._

_Though all the men did as they were bid, there were those select few that did so to keep up their facades of good-natured followers of the King._

_Nevertheless, all the men left and once the emperor and his third son were alone, the emperor urged his son to come closer._

_Klaus expected a slap of discipline, but instead he felt his father's arms around him. His arms enveloped the little boy and he placed him upon his lap._

"_What happened, my boy?" The emperor questioned, his voice filled with warmth and love._

"_I- I wanted to show you something that I found while digging."_

"_Digging? Why were you digging, Nikky? You ought to be learning languages and numbers with your tutors." _

"_Um… I was learning a lot, but then I got tired. I asked Mister Colin if we could go outside because I wanted to know more about artiwacs. Mister Colin said okay and I found this." Klaus announced as he reached into his pocket and removed a piece of metal with a specific looking talisman._

"_Artifacts, my boy." Mikael corrected._

_The little boy looked away from his father and gave a sad sigh._

"_It isn't a big deal, son. You tried and that's all that matters. Actually, this artifact looks very interesting. I am going to put it in my collection and we'll go digging for the missing pieces. Perhaps we'll find them all." Mikael offered._

_Klaus nodded in agreement before he looped his arms around his father's neck._

"_I love you, papa." Klaus said before he departed in search of the missing pieces. What was interesting was that though they found many of the missing pieces, there was one very important piece missing…_

"Papa, so the reason why I am here is because I would like to discuss recruiting one of the gladiators that fought today. You see, this lad was really very skilled and I do think he can teach our men how to better protect themselves and us."

"That sounds like a fine idea. However, you do realize that this particular gladiator may just have gotten lucky during today's match, right?"

"That is what I thought at first, but not anymore. This lad is the real deal. I am going to follow up on his match in a sennight."

"Elijah's marriage is to take place on that day, Niklaus."

"I know," Klaus sighed. "I spoke to my older brother and he seems to be against it. Apparently since he's the heir to the throne I am to do as he bids no matter what. He's acting as though he's already King." Klaus announced as a frown settled upon his lips.

With a chuckle, Mikael shook his head before he motioned for Klaus to come closer.

"I'm still here and I expect to remain in power a lot longer. With that in mind, you must attend the wedding ceremony, but afterwards you may go and see the match. If this lad is really as good as you say then we need him. You have my blessing, son. But I expect to see the lad's strategy as soon as you recruit him. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Klaus answered immediately. "I won't disappoint you, papa. Just wait and see."

With those last few words, Klaus left his father to himself before he made his way to his bedchamber. There, he thought about what would entice the boy to take up the position he offered. As the ideas circled around in his brain, he couldn't seem to get the girl's face out of his head. It seemed neither the male or the female sibling would be giving him any sleep in the coming sennight...

* * *

There you go, sweethearts! I hope this chapter was alright and would like to thank those of you that will give this fanfic another chance. Thank you so so much for your support and patience. It really means the absolute world to me, especially now. Unfortunately, I'm not writing as often as I'd like to because I simply don't have the heart to. Not with my grandmother's life hanging in the balance. Nevertheless, I am hoping for the best and hope to return very soon with another update.

Please Leave Feedback!

~Hana :p


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